DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own. I will end up using it, I promise! BTW, I'd love to hear what you think of this so far, as well as any pairings or situations you'd like to see!

Thinking

Emphasis

Biju, etc. speaking

Biju, etc. thinking

"At least she's talking more now and still holds my hand."

Kakashi bent down to turn off the shower as he continued to worry not only about Naruto but about going back to his ANBU duties. He'd been off for quite some time, and he'd admit it now: he had enjoyed being out of the assassination business. His nightmares that once began every time he closed his eyes weren't quite so frequent now, and... "Ugh." It's not like I have a choice.

No, the Hokage needed his "expertise," and the man had allowed him all of this time off to take care of Naruto. He had to go back, supposedly on Naruto's birthday of all days, but considering the Sandaime's fondness of the girl he considered his granddaughter, Kakashi was fairly sure that he'd at least be able to celebrate with her. A nagging voice in his head reminded him that Naruto probably didn't even know her birthday, and perhaps that was for the best considering everything that happened that day. Not to mention the "Kyuubi Festival"...

His sensei and wife would destroy the Leaf if they could see what happens yearly on the day they sealed their child's fate, he was sure. Kakashi hated the festival with a passion. Supposedly meant to celebrate the defeat of the Kyuubi no Yoko, it had turned into a reason for so many in the village to simply get inebriated even if they hadn't been affected by the attack. Some of the people he saw "celebrating" last year were new residents of Konoha! Watching them burn an effigy of his sensei's child to supposedly honor the Yondaime had made his blood boil. It was especially hard when he didn't know at that time whether or not Naruto-hime was even alive.

At least those traitorous civilians at the Inuzukas had been taken out. Kakashi didn't know what Inoichi had found inside their idiotic heads. It must have been bad, though, for Jiraiya-sama, along with the help of a rather large toad, to use a fire and oil jutsu to take out a whole dormitory there.

Drying his wild hair again harshly, he then tied the towel around his waist. Hearing a soft knock on the bathroom door, he peeked through so as not to reveal his bare face, but found Naruto waiting for him. He smiled and allowed her in, kicking a stool closer to him so that she could see herself in the mirror. She hadn't done this since before the attack at the Inuzuka compound, so maybe things were looking up. Hell, she hadn't been speaking much to anyone until this past week...

"I need to shave, too," the little blonde said.

"Of course you do, hime."

Kakashi watched with amusement as Naruto used a spoon to mimic his motions as he shaved, on her whipped-cream-covered face. She followed his movements with precision, but whenever Kakashi shook his razor and rewetted it at the sink, Naruto would put her spoon in her mouth to eat the sweet confection. Tsunade would have a fit if she saw the little girl doing this before breakfast, but Kakashi couldn't bring himself to care. This was their time together, and he cherished it. Realizing that, he opened his borrowed Sharingan and recorded his sensei's daughter's actions. She was so adorable that he would've probably given her a big glomping hug if it were not for him being half-naked.

"When's my chest hair going to grow in?"

Kakashi bit back a laugh. "What did Jiraiya-sama tell you?" Naruto just pouted and continued to "shave" as he did. "You have to eat your vegetables and the rest of what Tsunade-hime tells you that you should, then it'll grow right in." He watched the girl's face screw up - she was a really picky eater, but dear Kami when she found something she liked: watch out. She'd eat you out of house and home!

"I just need enough hair to highlight my nipples and belly button. That way it'll be like I have a face there!" Naruto lifted up her top and circled her - EEK - just to prove it.

"Ouch!" Kakashi had cut himself at the horrible idea of what she said, but it was really more because Naruto had used her fingers to circle her -er, chest in two terrible places he didn't want to think about. Yikes. "Hand me a washcloth, Naruto." She did and he wet it in warm water, then applied it to his rather deep cut.

Naruto watched and seemed to forget all about shaving, as she just scooped off the rest of her whipped cream and ate it as she watched Kakashi tend to his face. "I heal faster than you," she said as she touched her cheek that had been cut so deeply that awful night.

Kakashi frowned with concern but supposed that it was a good thing that she was finally ready to talk about what had happened. "You do. Your clan, the Uzumakis, are known for having a fast healing rate, very long lifespans, and aging slower than most people as adults."

Naruto wondered if he was telling the truth, but she didn't sense that he was holding anything back from her. Well, maybe... As she stood there silently, her father who wasn't ready to say he was her father, began to tense up. That was telling. Hmm: maybe Nii-san's a little bit right about him being the one that makes me heal so fast. Knowing that she had a clan ability like Tou-nii said made her want to shove that in Kurama-nii's face, though!

Whaa: he's asleep again! Kurama was just laying there snoozing when she went to let him know.

Thinking about how the Kyuubi had to have something to do with how Naruto healed nearly immediately, however, he decided that his silence and the continuing appraising stare she was giving him made him talk - about something, anything! This girl could eventually be a T&I interrogator, but that would be a nightmare! "So anyway, that circle on your clothes and on the back of my flack jacket is your clan's symbol. I wear it on my sleeve, too."

"What about your clan? Where is your symbol?" Naruto asked, her head tilted cutely.

"Hmm. Well, my clan wasn't as important as yours." Kakashi's face contorted when saying that. His clan had originally been amazingly successful farmers, and that was important. Had it not been for the Hatakes who had once been spread throughout the Elemental Nations, the Senju and Uchiha may have died or wimped out before the Shodai was born and gained his remarkable ability and then came up with the idea for a hidden village. Between the clan wars and rogues before them, we were nearly wiped out. Somewhere along the line, however, the Hatakes decided to fight back and train as shinobi and samurai, depending mostly on where they lived. "Maa, I suppose my clan was important in another way. Yeah." He paused for a moment and something came to his mind. "I'm the last of my clan, kinda like you, hime." He appreciated Naruto's sad face turning into a bitter smile as she leaned next to him to give him emotional support.

Such a sweet girl. Thinking about his own clan was odd for him. And it made him think. "Would you be scared if we went to the cemetery? We could get some flowers and visit my dad," and yours went unsaid.

"Why would I be scared?" Naruto asked. She was super-brave, that she was sure of.

"Ghosts," Kurama told her at the same time Kakashi tried to tell her there was no reason at all to be afraid.

"AAAH! You're awake again! Are you serious?!" Kurama ignored the bothersome kit but really did enjoy riling her up.

"Are there ghosts there?" Naruto asked as she tried to get away from the wet washcloth Kakashi was rubbing all over her face. Meanie!

"Of course not." Maybe. Kakashi didn't know how that shit worked and didn't want to know. If his dad was there, it was about damn time he went to see him, though.

"Alright. I'll protect you," Naruto said quite seriously as she picked up his mask. He expected her to hand it to him as it was closer to her, but instead, she pulled it over her head, then pulled the front of it up to her nose. "But I'm wearing this!"

Kakashi was of two minds: one, it was a good idea, as her whisker-marks identified her easily, and unfortunately, people remembered and word had gotten out about that. Two, she looked so cute that he would've squealed if he wasn't super cool. "Alright, but not at home, when you go to school, or around your friends. Now go get me another mask, you little thief." Naruto nodded happily and ran to go get him another mask. He locked the door and quickly got dressed.

"Well look at you! You look like a super-badass ninja princess, right Hime?" Jiraiya asked before taking another bite of porridge.

"That's what I am," Naruto was then a little horrified at what she'd just said. She didn't want to become a chibi-onee, right?

"Shinobi. Or in your case, a kunoichi."

"Stop lyin' about being asleep!"

"Go away."

"I just heard from sensei that Kunoichi Classes start on Monday, Naruto," Tsunade said after sipping her tea.

Naruto scowled at her and pulled down her mask to try to eat the disgusting porridge. "Bleh! What the hell's 'Kunoichi Classes'?"

"Eat that or remain a midget, brat!" Jiraiya reminded Tsunade that "midget" was not an appropriate term to use about little people, but she brushed past that fact. "And you need to watch your goddamn language!"

"Harumph," Jiraiya noised out, gaining their attention. Tsunade's such a hypocrite, but she's so cute when she's mad! "Why don't you tell her about Kunoichi Classes, hime?"

"Tch. You were always spying on us so you kno-." Tsunade's rant was cut off with a swift jab to the ribs from her old teammate. "Alright, fine. Kunoichi classes will be fun, Naruto. You'll get to meet more girls and learn things about flowers..."

"Meh, I don't care about flowers," Naruto sassed while still not eating.

"Tch. And poisons," seeing Naruto's eyes widen with a degree of interest Tsunade continued, "oh, let's see... Things like coding, and using messages that can be sent using all kinds of things men wouldn't even think of." She shook her head at her silly teammate who looked like he wanted to know what those things were, too. Tsunade sure as hell wasn't going to tell him. "I'm going to be teaching the students a bit about healing this year..."

"Kunoichi means girls, right?" One of Tsunade's eyebrows lifted in irritation at Naruto once again interrupting her, but she nodded her head. "Why don't the boys learn this stuff? Especially healing?"

"They will learn rudimentary first aid at the Academy, but girls generally have better chakra control, and thus are more likely to be good medics. We need medics, Naruto. I've always wanted to see one on every team. You certainly won't be going out on the field without one," Tsunade said firmly. I don't care how fast you heal. No granddaughter - oh god, is that what I really think of her as? I'm really getting old and soft - of mine is going out in the field without a medic beside her!

"Why can't I be a medic?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade grimaced. This is not where she wanted to go with her suddenly talkative grand-, er, whatever the hell she was to her. "You have too much chakra, Naruto. Right now you have as much as The Pervert or I have and..."

"So? You said your grandfather had chakra that feels just like mine! And Hashi-kun said that Hashirama-jiji had giant chakra, too, and..."

"Stop interrupting me, you brat!" Tsunade noticed that Hashi had entered the kitchen but quickly tried to leave and probably go hide somewhere upon hearing his name mentioned. "We'll see how you do, but not everyone can become a medic, Naru-chan."

"Hmph!"

Tsunade stuffed a chewable vitamin in the bratty girl's mouth and made her eat it before drinking her milk. "Now eat your damn porridge!"

Naruto pulled up her mask and quickly - too quickly - ran outside instead. She was so mad! Why did she have to be a chibinobi or Kunoichi-thing? It wouldn't be so bad if she could help and heal people. Supposedly that old hag-drunken granny lady was a super-healer, but she was also a meanie! "Are you going to the Academy?"

Hashi jumped out of the tree he was hiding in at hearing her question. How he thought he'd get away from his "sister's" sensory ability, even he thought was ridiculous now. "Hai. I start on Monday. They're putting me in the fourth year's class but said I'd probably graduate early. That's why I need to practice my taijutsu as well as my ninjutsu." He decided if no one else was going to listen to him, that he might as well gripe to Naruto-hime since there was no one out here. "If I don't have the skill in taijutsu that I should have, then... I might get beat up and lose. People might not like me," he eventually added, allowing someone to know how worried he was about that.

Naruto did not want to see her big brother get beat up. He was a total weirdo, his eyes were scary, but he was really kind and smart, and they'd shared the same pain from being... down in that place. She tried to smile at him unsuccessfully. "Do you want to practice with me? I used to have ta - you know," she finished uncomfortably.

"He made you do taijutsu?" Hashi asked. Naruto nodded her head but couldn't look up at his face. "Me, too, but only when I was out of the - you know."

Naruto once again nodded at him, before shrinking into herself more. "He made me do everything," she replied painfully in almost a whisper.

Hashi bit his lips. He wasn't sure how to comfort people, and there was something to say about being "a man of action," like his "perverted uncle," Jiraiya-sama said a lot. "Alright then. Do you want to spar?"

Naruto twisted her lips to the side and thought it over. She actually liked to fight, a lot, but that was mainly because she got to punch and kick those horrible snakes and his worshippers or whatever those evil oddballs were. She didn't want to hurt Hashi, though, but she wanted him to be safe and know what he was doing at the Academy. Stupid Academy. "Alright. Get in position and say 'hajime' when you're ready for me to attack."

Hashi got into a position Naruto didn't recognize and gave the word for them to start. She bounced, weaved, and crouched around Hashi's attacks for what seemed like an hour but was really only minutes. Finally, she landed a hit on him and Hashi flew back into a tree, making it cave in a little. "Hashi-kun, are you okay?!" Naruto ran over to him, not knowing what to do. He nodded his head but spat out some blood.

That was the scene the others walked in on. Tsunade went running to Hashi, her hands glowing green. She found that Naruto - tiny little Naruto - had broken two of the boy's ribs! The little blonde kept saying that she was sorry, but Tsunade was only gaping at her while continuing to heal the boy she referred to as her nephew.

Kakashi had eventually raised his headband when he got outside and saw that the two were fighting. He'd thought it would be a simple spar with the way the two were actually smiling at each other. Neither had been able to land a hit until Naruto did so - and she did it with a chakra enhanced punch: just like Tsunade-hime uses. Seeing the way she moved through the fight told him that the bastard snake had taught his little girl a variation of his own style, but added his old teammate's to it. He was pissed! If Naruto was going to use any style, it should be her parent's or his!

It was also disgusting to imagine forcing a toddler to learn how to fight, period.

Naruto was sad and scared. I hurt Hashi-kun! No one would say anything, and seeing her father's angry expression made her run. She ran as fast as she could out of the compound. Feeling Kakashi's chakra gaining on her, she ran through the hand signs for the shadow clone jutsu and made 8 of them. They all spread out and Naruto accidentally found herself in the very scary village.

Looking around, she realized that no one was... doing anything to her! Well, there were a couple of ladies that looked at her and smiled - which was weird. When she'd been here before, people looked at her like she was the devil or something. Nii-san had told her that her dad who must hate her now had put an illusion over them, 'cause he could feel it, and that's how they'd ever managed to get through this nasty place safely.

A large hand grabbed her shoulder. Naruto tried to get away, but he held on. "Hime! Don't go running off like that!" Kakashi quickly picked her up. Before he even thought about putting a genjutsu over them, a fake red-headed woman approached them. (The dark brown roots gave it away.)

"Oh, Hatake-sama, is this your daughter?" Kakashi blanched at seeing one of his fan-girls sauntering over to him. "She's so CUUUUUTE!" Both Kakashi and Naruto flinched at hearing her high-pitched squeal. She turned back to him. "You're even more attractive as a father," she said as she batted her eyelashes at him.

Naruto wanted to slap the woman. Unbeknownst to her, so did Kakashi.

"Yes, she is. Now if you'll excuse us," Kakashi turned around to go back to the compound, unaware of the giant smile now plastered on Naruto's masked face.